PRESS DIGEST - British Business - Dec 4

3 Min Read

Dec 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times GlaxoSmithKline Plc has struck a 4 billion pound ($5.09 billion) deal to buy an American cancer drug specialist. It said it had agreed to pay $75 a share for Tesaro Inc. bit.ly/2Q7zO9D Tesco Plc has said that the proposed merger of J Sainsbury Plc and Asda should not go ahead unless "extensive remedies" are provided by its rivals. bit.ly/2QdbJ1e The Guardian Mike Ashley, the founder and chief executive of Sports Direct, has called for a tax on retailers that make more than a fifth of sales online as he said many high streets were "already dead" and more would be killed off without government intervention. bit.ly/2QfW6pW Court cases conducted by email, more pleas made online and judges helped by artificial intelligence are likely to feature in the next stage of digital law reform, the justice minister Lucy Frazer has revealed. bit.ly/2QaJy32

The Telegraph Royal Dutch Shell Plc will bow to the mounting climate concerns of shareholders by anchoring the pay packets of its top bosses to tougher carbon emission targets, making it the first major oil company to embed climate change targets in its executive pay policy, subject to a shareholder vote in 2020. bit.ly/2Q9fFAb

Irish meat entrepreneur Tom Cribbin has carved up the rump of collapsed butchers chain Crawshaw Group Plc, buying the brand, its 19 remaining stores and its Rotherham factory out of administration for 1.4 million pounds bit.ly/2QarXbw

Sky News

Retail tycoon Mike Ashley has said he is in talks to sell Newcastle United in a deal he hopes will go through before the January transfer window. bit.ly/2Qa0SFe

Total SA has warned dozens of its petrol stations have run dry in France following the worst rioting to hit the country in 50 years. bit.ly/2QfVfWg

The Independent

Qatar will leave the oil producers' group OPEC in January to focus on liquefied natural gas. ind.pn/2QcKGmA

The performance of UK manufacturing was "lacklustre" in November, as Brexit continued to bite, according to the Purchasing Managers' Index. ind.pn/2QaJoIY